KNOX COUNTY, Tenn. (WVLT) – Big storms surprised many across East Tennessee on Wednesday afternoon.

In North Knox County heavy wind, lightning and rain downed trees and even tour the roof off a building. That left many cleaning up into the evening. Volunteer TV News talked to several residents in the Fountain City and Corryton communities. They said the storm appeared to come out of nowhere.

"I was sitting in the Locker with two sick kids in my lap because they're scared to death of storms,” said Judy Williams.

"It came up in a hurry,” said Janie Haggard who was outside when it started, “I mean real bad because by the time I got from the dog house inside, I was soaking wet. I had to put new clothes on."

Corryton seemed to get hit the hardest, with a handful of homes suffering serious damage. For Larry and Mildred Johnson, they weren't home but their loved one was.

"There was nobody in the house except for the dog,” said Larry Johnson, who came home to find a tree on his home. “It's a little Chihuahua and it scared her to death."

Vehicles were also targets of Mother Nature's wrath with trees striking a truck and a van.

Judy Williams must now look at clearing out her driveway to get out, not to mention buy a new canopy to replace the one the storms twisted and turned over.

"This is the worst in five years,” she said, “this has been the worst and it's pretty bad. I lost a lot."

Janie Haggard had a neighbors tree fall into her yard. There was a tree in her front yard that was split. She wonders if that's something wind can do or something more deadly.

"It's all the way down into the ground so I don't know if lightning struck it or what?, but if it did it was too close," she said.

The storms came and they left damage, but for people like the Johnson's, they're thankful property damage was all they did.

"We never expected this, but we've got each other and we'll make it. Our house can be repaired."